Two wine varieties that have truly stood the test of time on Vancouver Island are, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. In this episode I highlight two great Pinot Gris from two different regions on the island. As well as a local artisan cheese producer.

After countless hours of hard work, The Wine Coop is nearing completion. We still have a lot of little finishing touches to take care of, but as you will see by the following slideshow, we are well on our way.

It has been far to long since the last time I released any content online. Things have been crazy busy but, I am back online. Watch this episode to see where I have been and to see some really great wines!

Summerhill Winery in Kelowna BC, has a great reputation of being on the forefront of producing wines that truly speak for the ground they came from. They are certified organic and soon to be certified biodynamic. I am always stoked about whatever this winery is up too.

The 2008 harvest (of real wine grapes) was nearly over and we were having a heck of a time trying to find someone who would sell us less than 2000lbs. It turns out grapes are generally sold by the ton… not by the pound. Our search took us all the way to Grand Forks in the West Kootenays… yes, they actually grow grapes there.

A nice grower named Terry was kind enough to let us U-pick what he had left of his Marechal Foch grapes. It was the first weekend of November, the leaves had already dropped, and it had just rained. Not quite the romantic image we had for our first grape harvest. This didn’t dampen our spirits in the slightest, as we were just stoked to have tracked down some nice looking grapes that we got to pick ourselves. Continue reading →

I am so STOKED to finally tell you all about our new wine making facility and studio for the show. Welcome to The Wine Coop. For more details about the project make sure that you check the new post in The Wine Adventures of Mike & Mike (MM#003) Introducing . . . The Wine Coop!

This post contains a great slideshow and the story of The Wine Coop so far.

As many of you now know, behind the scenes in the garage we have been making hobby wine for a number of years. Our production has slowly been increasing on us year after year. Timing couldn’t have been much better with the sale of my home and us out growing the garage. This led to a search for bigger more dedicated facility for us to continue exploring the side of the wine world that we are both so passionate about.

Around late January to early February of this year (2012) I was spending an afternoon at my parents house, when it dawned on me. The old chicken barn is still just sitting here! Rotting away, the building has been unused for a good number of years now. Continue reading →